In the sale of goods by a merchant to a consumer, there are various point of sale devices available to the merchant which may be utilized to complete the transaction. Typically, each point of sale device has limited functionality. For example, one known point of sale device is the debit card reader that exists in, for example, some grocery stores. The merchant rings up a total amount due on a register, and passes the debit card through a card reader to debit the consumer account. Credit card readers work in a similar way. Usually, the functionality of these available point of sale devices is quite limited. If a merchant desires to have enhanced point of sale capabilities, multiple devices are required. Unfortunately, counter space is very valuable to the merchant good seller. Because the merchant usually must use multiple point of sale devices if more than a single point of sale function is required, these multiple devices take up valuable counter space. Although many of these devices have been commercially successful, the merchant is forced to make a trade off between having additional and enhanced capability at the point of sale and having more available counter space for small items that are commonly bought as a customer is about to check out.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a point of sale payment terminal that overcomes the limitations of the prior art and allows the merchant good seller to avoid the burdensome trade off decisions that must be made when deciding the importance of added counter space versus the importance of added functionality at the point of sale.